(Originally published on my Facebook page November 15, 2018)
Georgia Is On My Mind Today
Georgia O’Keeffe that is, because she was born this day. When I was about 12 years old, on a summer morning, I declared to myself that Georgia O’Keeffe was my favorite artist. I had seen one of her paintings on the cover of a Reader’s Digest magazine, and there was something in the way she painted that smooth white bone with mountains in the distance that captured my heart.
Of course, I didn't tell anyone she was my favorite artist. My friends spoke of their favorite quarterbacks but never a favorite artist, so I didn't talk about it either. It would be years before I learned more about O’Keeffe, and decades before I dared think of myself as an artist. But something real and lasting happened that morning, something that happens more often than we realize. Constantly, sparks are ignited in the hearts of children, even if they smolder for decades before fully becoming a flame. And sadly, too many of those sparks are drowned out by one form of cold water or another.
So today, on her birthday, I give thanks for Georgia O'Keeffe. I am grateful for her art, her quotes, her spirit and her life. I am grateful that she was a petite, genteel, independent headstrong firebrand, ahead of her time and timeless. And I am grateful that on a summer day decades ago, one of her paintings printed on a magazine cover ignited something in a boy’s heart.
Happy Birthday, Georgia!
Peace and Joy,
Jeff
